Knee Deep In the Big Boozy
Now this is what I remember: 150-200 people, beer flowing freely (literally), everyone looking forward to victory rather than back at our past defeats, seventy or eighty huge applause lines from the evening's speakers, countless connections being made, direct actions taking place on site---yes! This was Democracy for America at its best.
The first Dean for America Meetup I went to was in May of 2003. That Meetup remains the prototype for what I imagine a successful, nearly spontaneous grassroots event to be like. It was held upstairs from a pool hall, so we had to be loud. We were rollicking. No one really knew each other, but the beer flowed freely. You couldn't shut us up. There was no organizational structure in place, so we had a lot of work to do. We quickly formed a committee to build a website (accomplished on two weeks), to do community outreach (fifteen events hit over the next month) and hold house parties (who knows how many over the next two months). That was the Meetup that established Philadelphia for Dean as one of the pre-eminent Dean organizations in the country.
As good as that was, tonight was much, much better. The basic reason it was better is because it revealed just how far we have come in the past two years. From a bunch of disconnected strangers generally new to politics, tonight was a who's who of the emerging Vast Left Wing Conspiracy in Philadelphia.
In the past, we made general rhetorical gestures about retaking the party. Tonight, with Howard Dean as our Chairman, at least thirty new, or soon to be, committee-people were at the event, thanks largely to our local Neighborhood Networks organization.
In the past, we all talked about Blog for America, after explaining to some people what a blog was. Tonight, there were at least ten bloggers from the Philadelphia area at the event, who combined to have a readership at least the equal of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In the past, we talked about recruiting candidates for every race. Tonight, we had five congressional candidates from four different Republican-held districts in the area. In each of the four districts, we had at least one candidate who ran in 2004. As many around here are fond of saying, you have to run twice to win in the House.
In the past, no one knew who we were. Tonight, state reps and members of the press came even though we didn't tell them about the event.
In the past, we talked about seriously challenging every seat. Tonight, we had the head of Project 90 in attendance, to help guarantee that will happen.
It's really breathtaking to realize how far we have come. Two years ago, our activist base was in a shambles. Tonight, we were overflowing with local organizations, bloggers, candidates, consultants, elected officials, people from the Seth Williams campaign, and other activists. Matt Stoller and I have talked at length about the need for better local Netroots organizations, and in Philadelphia it really is happening.
Here's an excerpt from the speech I gave to warm up the crowd:
There was a time not long ago in my life when I thought all of these things, felt all of these things, and didn't do pretty much anything about it. That time in my life is now over, and it is over forever.
The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy starts at home. We can't take our country back until we take our own backyard back. That is what a fifty-state strategy really means.
Now I know that I can read progressive blogs and listen to Air America rather than having hundreds of Rush Limbaugh clones forced down my throat.
Now I know that I am proud to be a Democrat, because there are leaders in the party like Howard Dean who are not afraid to say what they believe, and who are willing to finally challenge Republicans about what direction of our country.
Now I am not afraid to say that I am a registered Democrat, after years of being an independent, because I want to have a say in the direction of my party.
Now I can be involved in politics too, because organizations like Democracy for America actually post the time and the location of their meeting in public, and because they are open to the public.
Now I know that I am not alone, because I know I am in a room with hundreds of my friends and neighbors who are united in saying "no more" to the rising tide of conservatism in this country. People who are sick and tired of being told that saying what you believe makes you unelectable. Patriots who are tired of being told that dissent is the equivalent of treason, and that hatred is the equivalent of patriotism.
Last night, a man named Paul Hackett showed us that you can say what you believe, you can say it like you mean it, and even one of the most conservative districts in the entire nation, progressives can still compete. Bush won that district by thirty points--Paul Hackett only lost it by three. Last night, we learned once again that we are never going back to the way things were just a few short years ago. We are not going to be quiet anymore. We are not going to be hopeless anymore. We are going to take our party back. We are going to take our airwaves back. We are going to take our schools back. We are going to take our churches back. We are going to take our workplaces back. We are going to take our country back, and tonight we are going to hear from five people who are going to help us do it. Every single one of them is standing up to challenge an incumbent Republican in Tom DeLay's House of Representatives. They are just regular people with a lot of guts who believe what you and I believe. I want you to listen to them, and after they are all done speaking, I want you to go up to them and talk with them. But before they say a word, I want you to bring down the roof for them. Let's give it up people--our time starts now.
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